As he watched Nick Novak’s kick fly through the uprights on Sunday, Philip Rivers jabbed his fist in front of him, smiled and, as he is prone to do, let out a holler.

His glee had finally been actualized.

Rivers and Co. have been having fun all summer running an offense that puts them in comfortable positions, making the most of what they have while minimizing what they don’t have.

They feel empowered by knowledge and by the simplicity and flexibility of the quicker, shorter attack head coach Mike McCoy and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt have installed and continued to evolve.

To validate that, they needed a victory.

"It gives you confidence going forward," center Nick Hardwick said.

Chargers at Eagles, 9/15/13

You can learn in defeat, often even more than you learn in victory. But moving the ball well for a portion of the game and then stumbling for various reasons can be a doubt-ridden world of difference from playing as they did on Sunday and having it bear the fruit of a win.

More than anything, perhaps, a successful finish to a game in which they gained 539 yards gives credence to the excitement Rivers has clearly felt and freely expressed for months.

Before he became a sometimes-tangled mess, Rivers flourished in Norv Turner’s scheme. But Rivers is at home now.

In an offense similar to what he ran at North Carolina State and so far very different than what he did for six seasons under Turner, Rivers is connecting on shorter passes more often. He’s dropping less, getting rid of the ball quicker. The Chargers are hurrying their huddles at times, not huddling other times. Rivers is getting to the line quickly, sometimes letting the clock run down, sometimes snapping pm short notice. As he surveys defenses, he’s in charge, given the freedom to change calls like never before. He burned the Eagles multiple-look defense time and again Sunday, changing to combat their blitzes and exploit their coverage. The 539 yards by the Chargers was their most since 1985 and the second-most yards Philadelphia had allowed since 1970.

“Philip Rivers just seemed to know everything we were throwing at him,” Eagles cornerback Cary Williams told reporters after the game. “He was calling things out. He caught us in bad situations. Used those matchups against us and was able to capitalize. He kind of recognized what we were doing to a degree. We weren't able to disguise the way we wanted to. He just found the matchups. Philip Rivers is a great quarterback."

What Rivers likes is what he sees in his own team.

“It’s very flexible,” Rivers said of the offense. “And I love our guys in it. I really like the position it puts our guys in. I really feel like when I look out there at Eddie (Royal), he’s like, ‘Yeah, what you want to get me next? I feel like they’re really into it. They’re digging it.”

Royal is running routes all over and has already matched career high with five touchdowns through the season’s first two games. Malcom Floyd’s first catch Sunday came on a crossing route, something he joked earlier in the summer that he hadn’t been sure he could run. Floyd has also remained Rivers’ primary deep threat. Danny Woodhead is catching passes out of the backfield, almost as if it were drawn up that way. Woodhead touched the ball 17 times Sunday, tied with Mathews for most in the game.

The offensive line is loving the hurry-up for what it does to the defense, keeping them from substituting and tiring them.